Adjustable chaffer or sieve.



' No. 694,148. Patented 'Feb. 25, I902. F. HIXSON.

ADJUSTABLE CHAFFER 0R .SIEYE.

(Application filed Jan. 21, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets$heet I.

I m N W'ti-rwsses: I 177116211217? frarzZIzlxsarz. 4 %MK-' wow-umo" wnsmucmu n c No. 694,l48'. Patented Feb. 25, I902.

F.' HIXSON. ADJUSTABLE CHAFFER 0R SIEVE.

(Application filed Jan. 21, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

minim manna-:1. li h m fnuerd'i? frdizkfdxsmz.

Noams P'EYERS ca, PNDYULITNQ, wAsummw. n. c,

NITED STATES FRA NK IIIXSON, OF ASHLAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO H. L. MCCRA'Y, OF ASI-ILAND, OHIO.

ADJUSTABLE CHAFFER OR SIEVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 694,148, dated February 25, 1902. Application filed January 21, 1901. Serial No. 4%042'. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK HIXSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ashland, in the county of Ashland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Ohafiers or Sieves, of which the following is a specification.

My'invention relates to chaffers or sieves for threshing-machines such as are used in separating grain and the like from straw and chaff, the object being the production of improved means for performing the requisite functions, said means to be cheap in first cost, simple in construction, strong and durable, adapted to be adjustably secured within a shoe, whereby the entire body of the same or either end thereof can be raised or lowered relative to the said shoe, and which shall be provided with operating mechanism for the slats located partly beneath the frame or body of the chaffer or sieve and when applied to a sieve so disposed that part of the said mechanism will lie on the outside of the shoe.

With this end in view my invention consists in certain novelties of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one example of the physical embodiment of my invention constructed according to the best modes I have so far devised for the practical application of the principles.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved chaffer or sieve, a fragment of a shoe, and the operating mechanism, the frame of the sieve being broken away on one side of the divisional piece. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 1, shown in elevation, the side of the shoe also being shown broken away. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of Fig. 1, taken on the line of one of the shafts. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a slat detached from theframe and shown in an inverted position, so as to disclose the shaft and crank more clearly.

Referring to the several figures of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the shoe.

2 designates the side pieces of the frame, made with upper beveled surfaces, so that grain or the like falling upon them will be guided downwardly upon the slats; 3, the end pieces of the frame.

4 is a divisional piece extending between the end pieces and having a double-beveled edge to guide the grain downwardly.

5 designates bearings or holes for the shafts in the side pieces; 6, bearings for shafts in the divisional piece; 7, guards or deflectors on one end piece of the frame; 8, the upwardly-turned edges of the guards.

9 is a slat made, preferably, of sheet metal or the like; 10, a seat in a slat for the reception of a shaft, the same being formed by striking up the metal on a line longitudinally of the slat; 11, a shaft, in this instance made in two pieces or parts, the end of one being bent and extended to lie along the side of the body ofthe other; 12, a crank, in this case integral with one of the parts of the shaft, but which can be made separately and attached, if so desired; 13, clips for retaining the shaft in its seat, the same being made by cutting slits in the metal and bending the portionbetween the slits downwardly, as shown, or by forming separate pieces and securing them in position.

.14 indicates solder, which is applied at the meeting surfaces of the shaft and slat and clips for the purpose of holding the shaft rigidly to the said seat, so one cannot move relative to the other.

15 indicates fingers formed along one edge of the slat.

16 indicates prongs formed by slitting or cutting the edge of the metal and bending the parts between the slits downwardly at approximately right angles to the plane of the slat, and the said prongs, as well as the fingers 15, should preferably be of a tapering shape.

17 indicates guide-notches made in the rear edge of a slat and which receive and guide the prongs of the slat located in the rear, these notches preferably having inclined sides, as

shown, so that the parts will not bind when the slats are rotated.

18 is a rocker-barlooated beneath the frame; 19, a pin and cotter; 20, a lower connectingbar; 21, an arm to which bar 20 is pivoted; 22, a journal fitting a bearingin the side piece 24 is also pivoted; 26, a shaft journaled in the shoe; 27, a lever-arm secured to the shaft and made of a fiat bar of metal, and 28 is'atoothed rack located upon the outside of the shoe.

To adjust the series of slats, the lever-arm 27 is sprung outwardly and disengaged from the toothed rack 28 and then moved upwardly or downwardly. The motion of the lever rocks the shaft 26 audits arm 25, imparts a longitudinal motion to the upper connectingbar 24, rocks the upright 23, journal 22, and arm 21, and by the latter imparts a longitudinal motion to the lower connecting-bar 20. The bar 20,being pivoted to the rocker-bar 18, imparts a longitudinal motion to the said rocker-bar, and as the ends of the cranks 12 are pivoted in the bar 18 the shafts 11 are caused to rotate in their bearings and simultaneously change the positions of the slats 9 one relative to another. by the movement of the lever-arm 27 the open spaces between the slats can be increased or diminished.

From the foregoing description it will become obvious that I have produced a chafier or sieve which fulfils all the conditions hereinbefore set forth as the purpose of my invention and which possesses other desirable and valuable features and characteristics of construction.

The operating mechanismis partly'located outside the shoe, where it can be manipulated when the machine is in operation. The rocker-bar is placed under the frame out of the way, where it will not interfere with the material which passes over the slats of the sieve on its upper surface, and the connecting parts of the slat-operating mechanism permit the body, as well as the ends, of the sieve to be raised or lowered in the shoe. When the frame is used in connection with a chaffer, I may omit the upper connectingbar and the crank and substitute means for adjusting and holding the bar and the slats in proper fixed position.

It is of course understood that the sieveframe may be divided into any desirable number of sections and that it may be supported in the shoe by any suitable means.

While I have illustrated and specifically described only one example of the physical embodiment of my invention, I do not thereby intend to restrict the scope thereof to such example or the exact details of construction illustrated, inasmuch as changes and modifications, additions, and substitutions may be made, or even parts omitted, at the will of themanufacturer, without constitutin gasubstantial departure.

What I claim is- 1. The combination in a chaffer or sieve, of

It is obvious that a frame; a series of metallic slats rigidly secured to shafts and the shafts journaled in the frame; and means for rotating the slats and shafts simultaneously; the said slats having one edge provided with fingers 15, and

prongs 16 which lie in a plane substantially .at right angles to the plane of the surface of -the'slat, and the said slats so arranged in the cured to shafts and the shafts journaled in.

the frame; and means for rotating the shafts and slats-simultaneously; the said slats having one edge provided with downwardly-projecting prongs 16, which lie in a plane at an angle to the plane of the slat, and the other edge provided with notches 17 formed in the body thereof; the said slats being so arranged in the frame that the prongs of one slat nor mally occupy positions within the notches of an adjacent slat.

3. The combination in a chafier or sieve, of a frame; a series of metallic slats rigidly secured to the shafts and the said shafts journaled in the frame; and means for rotating the shafts and slats simultaneously; the said slats having one edge provided with fingers 15 and prongs 16, and the other edge with notches l7, and the slats so arranged in the frame that the prongs of one slat will occupy positions within the notches of an adjacent slat and the fingers 15 overlap the edge of an adjacent slat.

4. The combination with a'shoe, of a chaffer or sieve having a frame; a series of metallic slats rigidly secured to shafts and the shafts journaled in the frame; each of said slats having a plane surface and the metal thereof struck up in a longitudinal line intermediate its parallel edges to form a seat 10 for a shaft, and a shaft rigidly secured in said seat by solder and clips; and each of said slats having a crank 12; a rocker-bar 18 located beneath the frame and slats to which the cranks 12 of the slats are pivoted; a lever located on the outside of the shoe; and means uniting the lever and the rocker-bar 18 whereby the slats may be adjusted simultaneously.

5. The combination with a'shoe, of a chaffer or sieve; and means for operating the slats of the chafier or sieve; the said chafier or sieve having a frame, slats rigidly secured to shafts journaled in the frame and each shaft provided with a crank 12 which is pivoted to a rocker-bar 18; and the means for operating the slats of the sieve or chaffer consisting of a lever and crank-arm, a journal located in a side piece of the frame and having arms, an upper connecting-bar, and a lower connecting-bar.

6. The combination in a chafier or sieve, of a frame; a series of metallic slats rigidly secured to shafts and the said shafts journaled in the frame; and means for rotating the shafts and slats simultaneously consisting of cranks 12 on the under surfaces of the slats, a rocker-bar l8 beneath the frame to which the cranks are pivoted, an upright 23, a journal 22 located in the side of the frame, an

arm 21 on the journal 22; a connecting-bar 2O in the frame and one edge of each slat having downwardly-projecting prongs or fingers which are located close to the edge of an adjacent slat and normally extend below said adjacent slat, the arrangement being such that, when the slats are rotated and caused to occupy positions oblique to the frame,

openings will be made between the prongs and the edge of a slat adjacent the said prongs through which currents of air can pass.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. FRANK HIXSON.

Witnesses:

BENJ. W. MCCRAY, H. L. MOORAY. 

